The involvement of local residents is also critical, as the blue book cites some 2 million volunteers who helped maintain security during the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008 and the 1.4 million residents who were mobilized during the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party in November.
Of the nine public services surveyed respondents were asked to rate, public security ranked the lowest, while healthcare services got the highest rating, according to the blue book.
The public's concerns over food safety, which have been fueled by a series of scandals, dragged down the rating of public safety among all public services.
A high number of natural disasters and accidents that have caused many casualties and economic losses have unnerved the public.
Social security and employment were respondents' top two concerns, knocking housing from top position in last year's blue book.
Lhasa is also crowned the city with the highest satisfaction in terms of public service, topping all the others in indices including public security, public transportation, employment, social security, healthcare and the city's environment.
Xiamen and Shanghai follow Lhasa in the list of cities that offer the best overall public services.
Bone-chilling cold, but lots of fun!